There’s no denying that Post Malone has some of the most catchiest tunes around with ‘Psycho,’ ‘Better Now,’ Congratulations, and we can’t forget ‘Rockstar.’

 

 

But have you ever wondered what makes Posty’s music so catchy?

Kareem Clarke and Brian ‘Raydar’ Ellis, songwriting professors from Berkeley College recently spoke with VICE and explained the reasons as to why Post Malone has had such success in the music world and why we love his songs so much.

Kareem says, “Post Malone’s songwriting style is a bit repetitive.  We’ve got a lot of sixteenth note rhythms that’ll maybe repeat for three times and then go into a nice ending phrase.  Even if it’s the first time you’re hearing the song, you can anticipate the fact that there is going to be that down, on-the-one phrase. It makes it easier for the normal listener to latch on to that and remember it and know what’s about to come next.”

 

 

 

According to VICE, “Clarke’s theory is supported by a UFC study. In it, they looked at thousands of tracks and found repetitive songs are more likely to become a chart-topping hit.”  As VICE points out, songs like ‘Better Now’ kicks off with a hook (which automatically draws the attention from a listener).  And this isn’t the only song that begins with a hook – there’s also ‘Psycho’ and ‘White Iverson.’  As Kareem explains, “Streaming services count one stream as when a listener plays more than 30 seconds of a song. By putting the hook in the beginning, it’s more likely that someone will stream for at least those 30 seconds.”

 

 

And in terms of Posty’s musical style, Brain explains, “People find that Post’s music is easy to sing along to because he doesn’t really stray far from the root of the song.  The notes that he sings are what we call diatonic, which means they’re in the scale degree of what he’s singing.”  In the video (below) Brian compares Post Malone’s musical styles to Rihanna and Beyonce.  Brian says that Beyonce’s ‘Love On Top’ (for example) jumps from one key to another, making the notes ‘out of range for the listener’ whereas Rihanna works with a limited range, and it compliments her voice and the listener, which is exactly what Post does.

 

 

Either way, Post has had a very successful year.  He dropped his second LP called Beerbongs & Bentley’s which was the first album this year to go double platinum AND his Stoney album surpassed a music record that beat out Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

 

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